1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for processing a payment, more particularly to a method that employs a plug-and-play device for processing a payment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, payments for goods and/or services may be done using cash or plastic money cards (e.g., a credit card, a debit card, etc.). In order to accept plastic money cards as a means for payment, a merchant must enter an agreement with a card issuer (e.g., a bank) and provide a processing equipment (e.g., a card reader capable of reading the payment card) for communicating with the card issuer. As a result, merchants operating with low revenue and/or profit margin may be discouraged to accept plastic money cards.
As for online transactions, an online payment using a credit card is generally executed on a personal computer or a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone). When executing the online payment, a user is first instructed to enter personal information via an interface (e.g., a webpage displayed on the personal computer) including a username and an associated password for verifying the identity of the user. After identity of the user is verified, the interface further instructs the user to enter credit card information, which may include a card number, an expiration date, etc. A conventional system for executing such payment is disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Application Publication No. 473681.
However, in cases where the computer and the mobile device are not available or are not functional (due to reasons such as no Internet connection or insufficient power), an online transaction may be unable to take place.